Occupy Portland: Police arrest more than 50 people while clearing 2 parks (updates)

Occupy Portland: Police take back two parks, but protest moves to Pioneer SquareOn Sunday morning, Portland police seized Lownsdale and Chapman squares from Occupy Portland protesters, who have camped at the site for the past six weeks. Officers swept into the public parks after a Saturday night of brinksmanship with protesting crowds that swelled into the thousands. Sunday evening, crowds moved to Pioneer Courthouse Square, but police have said they will not allow protesters to occupy any more public parks.

Portland police arrested more than 50 people Sunday morning while clearing Occupy Portland protesters out of two parks in downtown Portland.

Officers with the Portland Police Bureau began clearing Chapman and Lownsdale Square parks Sunday morning and were able to remove the structures and protesters inside the park without the use of pepper spray or other chemicals.

Police said no officers or people arrested were injured during the park clearance, but protesters said they heard scattered reports of injuries.

During the clearing of the parks, police announced to protesters that the parks were closed and that those refusing to leave would be arrested. Officers then moved through the park and arrested people who gathered in a large crowd in the northwest corner of Chapman Square. Police did not release a specific number of total people arrested after the park was cleared and also did not release their names.

The Federal Protective Service were assisted by Portland police in clearing the nearby Terry Schrunk Plaza, a federal park.

Officials with the Portland Parks Bureau moved in after the parks were cleared to conduct what police said was a "massive cleanup of debris." Officers have also formed a perimeter around the parks, and traffic is closed for several blocks around the two parks.

Assisting Portland police with clearing the parks and controlling crowds were several area law enforcement agencies: Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin, Lake Oswego, Gresham, Oregon City, Milwaukie, Salem and Vancouver police departments; Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah county sheriff's offices; and crowd control teams from Salem, Beaverton and Vancouver. More than 300 officers from all involved agencies aided Portland police.

Updates from The Oregonian:

10:21 p.m.: The singing and chanting have quieted down as Occupy participants disperse into the night. Two men have been taken into police custody in the past hour, one on Third Avenue and the other at Fifth and Yamhill. No word yet on why they were arrested.

9:58 p.m.: A small group has returned to Pioneer Courthouse Square, encouraging people to join them in marching around the parks.

9:35 p.m.: The protest has dwindled to about 20 stragglers, who are quietly circling Chapman and Lownsdale squares.

9:17 p.m.: Most Occupy participants have left Pioneer Courthouse Square. A hundred or so walked back to Chapman and Lownsdale squares, where they marched briefly outside the chain-link fence surrounding the parks and chanted, “Whose street? Our street!” They moved on to City Hall briefly, but then returned to march outside Chapman and Lownsdale. They say they plan to march all night.

8:21 p.m.: The crowd at Pioneer Courthouse Square is continuing to thin out. Participants admit they are getting tired.

They are continuing to knock around places to go, including under the Hawthorne Bridge, the private homes of protesters and the First Unitarian Church.

Andrew Wilkins, 36, of Portland, was taking people by van to a home. Right now, Wilkins said, Occupy needs to focus on "basic needs."

"Everything takes time,” he said. “We can't figure out a solution overnight, but we will."

Another protester said, “We don’t have to necessarily have that physical presence if we’re taking care of everyone who don’t have homes, while we take time to work on our committees.”

But participants seem confident that the movement will come up with a new place to occupy. Wilkins says finding a new public space is an important part of the movement.

Wilkins hasn't stayed throughout the Occupy Portland movement, but he has been involved since the beginning. He says he has a home, but every few days he has come downtown to check out the situation because he supports the movement.

Wilkins said Occupy Portland is embracing everyone. "This isn't only about holding space," he said. "It's about taking care of people -- people who have been left out for a long time."

7:22 p.m.: The crowd has begun to thin out; there is a scrum-like gathering in the center of the square with leaders trying to figure out where everyone can stay tonight. They’re encouraging protesters and supporters who have room in houses or garages to speak up. A couple of protesters are insisting they’re going to stay all night in Pioneer Courthouse Square, but the group as a whole does not appear to be considering this as a possibility. About 100 protestors have just left the square; one protester offered to take them all in at his house on the east side.

6:49 p.m.: The protesters have gathered in a big group in Pioneer Courthouse Square to discuss their next move, with individual speakers representing smaller working groups within the movement throwing out ideas. One of those ideas is to have a moving occupation; every time the police tell them to leave a park, they would peacefully move along to the next destination. They’re still talking about possibly occupying PSU next, or the waterfront under the Hawthorne Bridge. The police are keeping their distance, mostly gathered near Nordstrom. Pioneer Courthouse Square closes at midnight. About 20 protesters arrested this morning have joined the rally straight
from their release from custody. Their arrival in Pioneer Courthouse
Square brought a wave of cheers.

5:30 p.m.: Hundreds of people are gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square. They've divided into small groups to talk about what to do next. Later, speakers from each group will convene. Protesters plan to stay in the square for hours and don't know about beyond that.